Majestic Restaurant

Majestic hotel is a lovely eclectic hotel is also well known for the chinese food in the restaurant.

I have heard plenty of good things about this place but have not had the chance to try till recently.

There is both ala carte and degustation. The degustation menu we picked was the $88++ for 6 courses.

Before the degustation, we decided to try the roast pork that we heard was good in the Majestic.

Roast Pork

The roast pork was quite disappointing for $12. It was not crispy enough. I found the roast pork at Vivocity crystal jade much better

Fried prawn coated with salted egg

Course 1: Fried prawn coated with salted egg yolk served with mixed fruit salad

It was nice with sweet and savoury overtones. The fruit salad was sweet and the salted egg yolk was savoury. The prawn was nicely fried with a thin batter to it. As the prawn was fresh, it had a crunch to it when I bit into it. However, I must say I like the original salted egg yolk prawns better as this dish lacked the unami sort of flavour that the original dish has.
It is a twist to the original. A nice start.

Course 2: Double boiled shark's fin soup with sea treasures and black truffle

This was quite good. The soup was clear and light with a delicate flavour without being bland. The meat in it was still tender and tasty. I think truffles should never be used in clear soup dishes though as I could not taste the truffle at all in the dish.

Course 3: Peking duck skin, pan seared foie gras and fried crab claw with sake and spicy chilli sauce

Fried Crab Claw

I think the peking duck skin is a waste. It is just a skin slice with sauce. The crab was tasty and robust with sweet and salty flavours.

Foie Gras with watermelom

The real surprise here for me was the foie gras. I saw it come with the watermelon and my heart sank. However, it ended up being a fantastic combination. The sweetness of the chilled watermelon really complemented the richness of the foie gras. Also the chilled watermelon added a refreshing dimension to the foie gras and did not overwhelm the creaminess of the foie gras. The foie gras was also cooked very well. It was seared to achieve browning and crispiness on the outside. The heat was also sufficient to make the inside melt.

Course 4: Braised South African whole abalone with homemade beancurd and garden greens

This was a typical Chinese dish. It wasn't a stand out. The beancurd was very smooth. The sauce was a bit to salty for me.

Lamb and carrot cake

Course 5: Grilled rack of lamb in honey and wok fried carrot cake

I had a rare tummy ache at this stage and could not eat the carrot cake cos it was too oily. Which is an absolute pity!!
I did have some lamb though and it was cooked very nicely. It was still pink and tender in the inside. I don't quite like the honey sauce which I feel overpowered the lamb.

Course 6: Choice of dessert- almond cream with egg white

I could not enjoy myself too much at this stage due to my stomach. I had a warm dessert as a cold one wasn't a wise idea.  Didn't really fancy my dessert. I may have enjoyed the durian Mao Shan Wan mousse or fried durian ice cream better as choices. I did end up stealing a taste of both from my friends and didn't think they were great.

Overall, this place had its hits and misses but its not a bad place to have modern Chinese.
The other place I have been before that is quite good as well for modern Chinese is Jade at the Fullerton.
However, I don't think neither places are really as good as modern Chinese could be. This is a fairly new genre that still needs to grow, I would love to try Bo Innovations in HongKong. Anyone tried it before??

Location: New Majestic Hotel 31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
Website: http://www.restaurantmajestic.com/
Contact Number: 6511 4718
Price: About $110 for this particular meal

Magma

Magma is situated at one end of Bukit Pasoh Road.

It has a retail store selling wines and other German goods like sausages.

We went there for a friend's birthday dinner. As Magma tends to have specials according to the produce in Germany that they import, the specials this month tend towards winter flavors and Christmas. I loved the specials this time, I think German food is made for Christmas.

2 types of Flammkuchen with bacon and onions, spinach and cheese

This German pizza was fairly light so I won't say its Christmas food. I always like this as a starter as the crusty is thin and light. It starts my stomach churning but doesn't make me too full. We ordered 2 types of "pizzas" here. The slight crunch of the onions provide texture to the dish and sweetness goes well with salty bacon and sour cream. The other flammkuchen which is spinach and cheese has less textural contrasts but has a lot of flavor.

Wine that went with the Pigeon

One thing I like about Magma is that their wines are affordable and generally taste good with their food Also, wines are not too expensive for the quality. We went with this on recommendation and that the goose would have this wine in it. The wine was spicy and earthy and went well with the gamey flavor of the goose.

Goose whole

 My friend commented that this was bigger than my newborn! I wish I have a better picture of it but if you were there you would be salivating over this dish. It was a good thing we had 6 people and could order this dish that was for 4-6.

Accompaniments with goose- Red apple cabbage and potato dumplings

Goose cut up with cranberry gravy 

Cabbage and potato dumplings went with the goose. These make for a hearty wintery meal. The goose had crispy skin on the outside and had meat that was moist and melt in your mouth. Combined with a dark rich acidic cranberry sauce, this was divine. It brought me to the white Christmas I was dreaming of. The goose was stuffed with fruit to flavor it.

Pieces of pancake with icing sugar, almonds and raisins

The pancake was fluffy and full of buttery goodness. This is a heart attack waiting to happen but it is divine. Its the sort of stuff you dream about for Christmas. I never like raisins but I love it on this dish. The sweetness of the raisins and the crunch of almonds make this dish happen. Plus when you add the plum sauce below that is both tart and sweet, the dish is complete. 

Plum Sauce to accompany pancakes

I am looking forward to more meals this festive season. I may consider coming back again before Christmas ends just for the goose. 

Website: http://magmatc.com/

Location: 2-4 Bukit Pasoh Road

Opening Hours: 

Mon- Thurs: 12pm- 3pm, 6pm- 11pm

Fri: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm- 12am

Sat: 12pm - 12 am

Sun & PH: 11am (brunch) - 11pm 

Contact Number: 62210634

Prices: About $75 for wine and food.